KUALA LUMPUR: The hearts of former students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Maxwell here must surely have been filled with pride when the school, established in 1916, was gazetted as a National Heritage.
Chairman of the Maxwell School Old Boys’ Association (Maxoba) Datuk Badruddin Abu Bakar said the recognition from the National Heritage Department on April 2 was the result of the association’s efforts which began 10 years ago to preserve the historical value of the school.
“We are happy with the recognition and hope that with this status, the school will not suffer the effects of rapid development that is happening to the surrounding areas.
“The recognition is also very meaningful as SMK Maxwell just celebrated its 100-year anniversary last year,” he told Bernama at the Maxoba dinner, here, last night which was attended by about 150 of its alumni.
At the event, registration director of the National Heritage Department, Mohamad Muda Bahadin presented the certificate of recognition to SMK Maxwell principal Hanipah Endut.
Among its distinguished alumni are former Auditor-General Tan Sri Amrin Buang, former national football player Zainal Abidin Hassan and former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.
Efforts to gain national heritage status for the school began in 2009 when Maxoba wrote to former Information, Communications and Culture Minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim. — BERNAMA